Can any music experts explain to me why the TNG theme is so good? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by maegul@lemmy.ml to c/startrek@startrek.website

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There's something about the TNG theme (played during the opening credits) that seems unique and special to my ear. But I don't know about music and orchestral production to make sense of it.

It sounds to me like the mix or maybe arrangement is somewhat unusual, even compared to other TNG era star trek themes. It seems to have a brightness and sheen to its tones that are almost synth like (??) But also the arrangement seems to hit some sweet sci-fi spot, like the way strings and trumpets with oboes/clarinets underneath (??) all mix together? Or is the chords that are played some where?

I don't know, but I've always thought it had a sheen and sparkle that almost sounds like star trek (or at least TNG star trek).

Anyone else notice something similar? Anyone know what's going on?

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[-] charonn0@startrek.website 2 points 1 year ago

Fun fact: originally, TNG was going to have a completely different theme:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzpeulsbv8o

[-] kargarocP4@startrek.website 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Actually, if you've watched TNG's early seasons, you've already heard this unused theme, in bits and pieces.
The very first piece of music heard in TNG ever (that isn't the intro itself) is a slower, less energetic (more introspective I guess?) version of that unused theme.
The main leitmotif itself appears all over early TNG.
I figure that, when Maccarthy was writing the early filler music, he assumed that his theme would become the main theme, and so heavily leaned into it when writing the filler music. Obviously, the main theme was tossed - but not his other music.

[-] kargarocP4@startrek.website 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Speaking of unused music, the final TMP/TNG theme itself was almost different:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbdhC-OXXa0

There's an interview where they tell stories, and apparently after they made this early version of the music, Robert Wise listened to it and gave the best three word critique ever - "There's no theme!"
Goldsmith basically went "...oh.", then went back and reworked what he had already into the 2nd version, and there you go that's the final theme.

[-] jmp242@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 year ago

Hilariously it kind of makes me think of like The Orville - you know all those "Star Trek" themes without copyright issues.

this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2023

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